The Lion (12 page)

Corvus smiled. “Rion and Tauri got married tonight.”

  “What?”

Corvus laughed. “They might as well. I think Daddy was ready to perform the ceremony.”

Rion waited as the act continued.

  “Momma was about to go straight ham though.”

  “What did Momma do?” Lance asked excitedly.

  “She was about to cut Tauri in the kitchen but Rion wasn't having it,” Corvus continued his story.

Rion put a hand to his face stroking his chin watching the pair.

Lance's eyes widened.  “What he do?”

  “Man, he told Momma that Tauri was BAE and she had to kill all that noise.”

  “Shut up Corvus,” Rion finally intervened. “I wonder how you two function in society.”

  Corvus laughed. “She can make a helluva chocolate cake though. If Rion don't marry her, I think I will...just to get some of her uh, cake.” He lifted a brow at Lance and they both fell out laughing.

  “See when I hurt you, it will be all justified,” Rion warned.

  Corvus looked at his brother. “I'm just playing Rion. Tauri's good people, I like her.” He turned to Lance.

  “Oh, I forgot. They having five kids.”

Lance looked at Rion. “Damn... are you trying to buy a team or have one of your own?”

Rion shook his head and looked out for Tauri to return.

  Tauri exited the restroom stall and walked over to the sink. As she began washing her hands a woman exited another stall. Their eyes connected in the mirror and both women gasped.

  “Tauri!”

  “Lisa!” Tauri exclaimed. “I didn't know you were back in town.”

  The two women hugged. “I just got back yesterday. I was going to call you next week to hook up.” They broke apart and looked at each other.

  “Wow Tauri, you look good girl! What are you doing here?” Lisa asked.

Tauri smiled. “I'm here with...” she paused a few seconds, “...my man.”

Lisa looked shocked. “You're in a relationship?” she asked and Tauri nodded slowly.

  “Is it serious?” Lisa asked.

Tauri bit her lip softly. “Yeah, I think it is.”

  “Oh my god girl, look at you blushing! I've only been gone a few weeks.” Lisa moved to the sink. “I have to meet this man.”

  Tauri nodded and both finished washing their hands before the two exited the restroom heading to the VIP section.

Lisa turned to Tauri. “How's Brandon?” she asked.

  “Brandon's fine. He's supposed to stop by tonight,” Tauri told her.

  Tauri smiled to herself. Lisa had been into Brandon since both she and Tauri had started working in the Prosecutor's office. Lisa had moved on to start a private practice but the two women had remained friends since they had also attended law school together.

The pair reached the section and all the men stood. Lisa recognized Rion immediately.

  “Oh my god! You're Rion Shaw,” she exclaimed.

Rion looked at Tauri and smiled. “Yes, I am.”

  Tauri came to his side and he placed an arm around her waist. “Lisa, as you know this is Orion. Orion this is my friend Lisa. We went to law school together and she used to be a prosecutor as well.”

  “Nice to meet you Lisa,” Rion greeted her shaking her hand and Lisa looked at Tauri in question.

  “This is your man?” Lisa questioned.

Rion looked down at Tauri. “Yes, I'm her man.”

  Tauri smiled up at him and confirmed. “Yes, this is my man.” She wrapped an arm around his waist.

Lance cleared his throat and the trio turned toward him and Corvus.

  “Lisa, this is Lance Johnson and Corvus Shaw,” Rion introduced.

Lisa turned to them. “The Negus?” She turned to Tauri. “We need to have lunch, like tomorrow.”

Tauri laughed. “Yes, we do. We need to talk.”

  Corvus and Lance greeted Lisa then invited her to have a seat a with them. They all sat at the table enjoying themselves until Lance asked Lisa to dance. She accepted and the pair headed to the dance floor with Corvus following to find a dance partner.

Rion leaned over into Tauri's ear. “Would you like to dance goddess?”

  She turned to him and gave him a sexy smile. “I prefer to do my dancing in private,” she whispered back.

  “We'll do that later then.” They smiled at each other before he kissed her lips.

Tauri leaned into him. “Is there a full moon tonight?” she inquired.

  “No, why?”

She shrugged. “Maybe I'd like to relive our second date.”

  “We can make new memories on the rooftop,” he told her softly.

Tauri smiled. “Will we be able to tell our kids about these memories?”

Rion kissed her neck. “Definitely not, unless we want some bad ass kids.”

  She laughed and then turned her face to meet his lips. They broke apart as Lance returned. He explained that Lisa's party had arrived and she went to join them promising to call Tauri later.

  “How does the place look?” Rion asked Lance.

  “Corvus and I checked it out. Everything looks on the up and up. We made sure to tell them we'd be checking in periodically.”

Rion nodded. “Did they know the Negus was coming?”

  Lance shook his head. “No this was a surprise visit to see if anything illegal was going down. We're not allowing that in the city anymore. If you're going to run a business, run it right or get the hell out.”

Rion looked around. “The place looks nice, hopefully they continue to do it right.”

They looked up as Brandon approached. “Hey, look who I found,” he announced.

  They all turned to find Khayla and Agent Marcus Graham. Khayla was dressed in a green dress that accentuated her ample bosom and thick thighs. Lance's eyes narrowed as he watched Marcus Graham with a hand on her back.

  Rion recovered first. “Hey girl,” he stood greeting Khayla with a hug. He turned back to Tauri. “This is Tauri, Tauri this is Khayla. Her twin brother is Khalil, Kyros' father.”

  Tauri stood. “Nice to meet you Khayla, I've had the pleasure of meeting your brother and your adorable nephew.”

  “Thank you. It's nice to meet you too Tauri. I've heard a lot about you.” Khayla shook Tauri's hand then turned to Marc. “I think you all have met Marcus.”

  “Yeah, we met him,” Lance said frowning.

  Marc looked around the table and greeted everyone wearing his patented dark suit and sunglasses.

  “Where's Trent?” Tauri asked.

  “He's back at the hotel on the phone with the love of his life,” Marc answered.

  “Well Marcus and I are going to have a good time, so I'll see you all later,” Khayla announced and Lance stood to his feet and walked over to her. He looked down into her face.

  “You look beautiful Katydids.” He leaned to kiss her cheek before looking at Marc.

Marc picked up the signal and nodded. “Are you ready Khayla?”

Khayla looked from Lance to Marc. “Yes, let's go.”

  Lance watched them walk away and turned back to the group. He took his seat along with Brandon, Rion and Tauri.

  “What did I tell you?” Rion asked Lance.

Lance frowned. “Miss me with that right now Rion.”

  Rion shrugged and Tauri looked at him in question. “I'll tell you later...on the rooftop,” he whispered.

Tauri shook her head. “Nah, you can tell me in the morning.”

Corvus rushed back to the table. “Lance, Khayla's here with the FBI dude!”

  Tauri sat at the table across from her friend with a smile on her face as Lisa studied her closely and shook her head.

  “I can't believe this is Tauri Patterson.” She laughed before raising her glass to her mouth.

Tauri flushed. “I know. This is crazy.”

  “So you two met two weeks ago?” Lisa asked confused.

  Tauri nodded. “Yes, and he's met my grandparents. I've met his family and he says we're going to get married and have five babies.”     

  “Rion Shaw?” She sat her glass back on the table.

  “Yes! Orion Shaw has turned my world upside down,” Tauri said shaking her head slowly.

Lisa smiled. “Girl, Rion Shaw can turn any woman's world upside down.”

  Tauri sighed. “I tried to fight it but he's so different from anyone I've ever met. He's so strong and confident. He says and does things that keep me totally off balance.”

  “He must be a damn wizard because this isn't the Tauri Patterson I know,” Lisa commented. “The Tauri Patterson I know doesn't fall in love in two weeks.”

Tauri looked at her friend. “I didn't say I was in love Lisa.”

  Lisa smirked. “Tauri, he's clearly giving it to you... and very well. If you're not in love now, you will be.”

  Tauri frowned. “Just because Orion and I are intimate doesn't mean I'm going to fall in love with him.” She picked up her utensil. “I have been intimate with other men and I didn't love them.” 

  Lisa laughed. “Those other men weren't fine ass billionaire baseball players who wanted to make babies with you,” she pointed out. “Babies that they wanted to take care of.”

  “You're so wrong,” Tauri told her.

  Lisa became serious. “No I'm honest. If a brother came correct to me like that and knew what he wanted, I'd be screaming my love from the rooftops, butt ass naked at three in the morning.”

Tauri shook her head. “You're a nut.”

  “Girl please, if Head Prosecutor Brandon Williams even murmured the words marriage and babies in front of me, I'd drag his fine ass to the nearest Justice of the Peace.”

Tauri laughed. “I'll warn Brandon.”

  Lisa lifted a brow. “But the Negus? Got damn, them brothers is fine as hell! I hate that I had to leave Lance on the dance floor, but I got his number...and I will be calling.” She smiled naughtily.

  “Wait, how are you going to talk about Brandon and Lance in the same breath and they're friends?” Tauri questioned.

  Lisa sat back in her chair. “Well unlike you girlfriend, fine ass brothers who want to get married aren't coming to turn my world upside down.”

  Tauri stared at her for a moment. “Right now I'm focused on winning Orion's case. That's what's most important.”

  “It doesn't matter if you win this case,” Lisa informed her.

  “What are you talking about?”

  Lisa leaned forward and smiled. “Tauri, honey...Rion Shaw is trying to become the first black owner of a baseball team in a major city. Your life won't be sending bigots and racists to jail. You'll be the wife of an incredibly powerful man and mommy to a bunch of cute ass little baseball players.”

  “Why does everybody think that just because that's what Orion wants, it's going to happen?” Tauri demanded.

  “Girl stop.” Lisa picked up her fork. “Hell yeah, you're marrying that man. Granny Patterson did not raise no fool.”

Tauri sat quietly formulating her response as Lisa started on her lunch again.

  “What did Granny say about him?” Lisa inquired.

Tauri frowned. “Granny and Granddaddy have formed a love fest with Orion.”

  “Of course they have.” Lisa pointed out. “And you know how protective they are of you. If he won them over, it's a done deal. Congratulations Mrs. Shaw.” She smiled. “You'd better make me a bridesmaid and pair me up with one of the Negus. It doesn't matter which one.”

  “Shut up,” Tauri told her.

  Lisa laughed loudly. “I knew when I saw you in class, looking all mean, that making friends with you would pay off one day.”

  “You mean using all my notes wasn't enough?” Tauri lifted an arched brow.

  “We were sharing notes,” Lisa corrected.

  “Okay, sharing notes...” Tauri said eating her salad. “It was funny I was the only one taking them.”

Lisa shrugged. “Hey, a girl had to do what a girl had to do, ya feel me?”

  “You were one of the smartest in the class Lisa. If you weren't clubbing all the time you would have had time to take your own notes,” Tauri reminded her.

Lisa smiled. “I like to have my fun...ask Brandon.” She winked at Tauri.

  “I don't want to know anything about you and Brandon. He's my boss and I hold him in high regard, so keep your little freak stories to yourself.”

  “Okay, then tell me your freak stories about Rion,” Lisa asked eagerly. “I know you got some. He looks like he can get it in.”

Tauri smiled naughtily. “I have no complaints about Orion.”

  “Ooooohhhhhh....spill the tea girl.”

Tauri leaned across the table and whispered, “Underneath the stars...he's a god.”

*********

  Later that afternoon, after receiving a call from Brandon, Rion was en route to the Prosecutor's Office to meet with Brandon, Marc and Trent. His thoughts drifted back to where they seldom strayed away from...Tauri.

  To be honest Rion wanted to get this business over, the threats and closing the deal, so that he could focus on building his life with her. He needed to be able to make her his top priority without all these distractions. Hopefully Brandon had some good news for him today and he could move forward with his plan.

  Rion entered the office where the three men sat. They all greeted one another before he took an empty chair.

  “What's up?” Rion asked the group.

  “We now know who's working with the men threatening you,” Marc informed him. “And we have a lead on who bugged Tauri's computer.”

Rion's eyes narrowed. “So what do we do now?” he asked.

Brandon answered, “Now we set a trap for them and let them hang themselves.”

  “A trap?” Rion questioned.

Brandon nodded. “At the Mayor's party next week. They'll all be in attendance.”

Rion turned to Marc. “We're still good on Ray's plan?”

  “Yeah, everything is on schedule,” Marc relayed.

  “Mac wants you to wear a wire,” Brandon told him.

  “She thinks they're going to admit something to me?” Rion asked confused.

Marc leaned forward. “You're going to need to bait them.”

  “These guys are so arrogant it won't be hard. They don't believe anything can touch them because they've gotten away with it for so long,” Brandon added.

Rion shrugged. “Whatever I have to do, I'm in.”

  “All of the prosecutors are invited to the party and we think you and Tauri should come separately,” Marc told Rion. “We don't want her by your side while you're interacting with these guys.”

Rion looked concerned. “I won't let her out of my sight,” Brandon promised.

  “Damn, I need this to be over,” Rion said taking a deep breath.

  Brandon agreed. “I know. Mac is going to put Marc on the police detail for the party and Trent is going to handle the wiring and recording.”

Rion turned to Trent. “Thanks.”

  “No worries. Next week we should have all the evidence we need for Tauri and she can file her case,” Trent told him.

  “Good, this case is important to her,” Rion added.

  All the men looked at Rion knowing that it wasn't just the case that was important to Tauri Patterson. It was Rion Shaw. Brandon was the only one that knew if anyone tried anything with Tauri, Rion would become an enraged lion and nothing would be able to stop him. Not him, Mac, his parents, the Negus or anyone else. Rion wasn't called the lion for no reason.

  “Let her do her job Rion,” Brandon cautioned. “She's the best.”

  Rion nodded. “I have no doubt about Tauri's abilities. I also have no doubt that justice isn't always served in a courtroom.”

Brandon sighed. “I know
Khalil.
Let's just do this right for the time being.”

Rion smiled at Brandon calling him Khalil. “Will Khalil be at the party?”

  “Yes, all the Negus will be in attendance but I'll be watching Khalil closely. We know how he gets.”

Trent looked at Marc and smiled.

Marc turned to Rion. “Do you have any concerns Rion?”

  “No, I'm cool.” Rion leaned back in his seat. “Let's get it done.”

He looked at Brandon. “Don't let her out of your sight,” he reminded him.

  “I won't. None of us will.” Brandon assured him.

  “Because if anything happened -”

  “It won't.” Brandon cut Rion off before he said anything else.

Rion got to his feet and stared at Brandon. “You know me.”

  Marc and Trent stared at each other in confusion as the other two men in the room sent silent messages.

Brandon got to his feet. “The lion can rest...for now.”

Rion nodded shortly and turned to Marc and Trent. “I'll see you guys later.”

Both men nodded slowly and watched Rion leave the office.

Marc turned to Brandon.  “What was that?”

  Brandon shook his head. “Just know that Tauri is the priority at the party. Rion will handle himself.”

  Rion walked down the corridor to Tauri's office. He spotted her at her desk with her glasses on deeply engrossed in her paperwork.

  “You make glasses the sexiest thing in the world,” he told her and she jumped in her seat.

Turning she smiled at him. “Hello Orion. What are you doing here today?”

He stepped further into the office. “I came to meet with Brandon.”

  Tauri looked him over in jeans and a T-shirt that showed his muscled chest and arms. She slowly removed her glasses and stared at him.

  “You stopped in to see me?” she asked.

  He nodded as he approached her desk stopping when he stood next to her chair. Tauri turned and looked up at him.

  “I want to take you somewhere,” he told her.

She smiled again. “Where do you want to take me Orion?” she whispered.

  He crouched in front of her and ran a hand up her bare leg from ankle to knee. “Later, I want to take you underneath the heavens but right now I want you to come somewhere special with me.”

Tauri leaned forward. “I have work to do.”

Rion matched her movement until their faces were inches apart. “It's the end of the day.”

She touched his handsome face and stared into his dark eyes.

Rion smiled. “You want me to lock the door?”

  “Not a chance. We won't be doing that again...not in here,” she told him.

  “Then you'd better stop looking at me like that and let's go,” he warned.

Her eyes darkened even more. “Then you should do something to persuade me to go.”

  Rion touched his lips to hers bringing his hand to her head holding her in place. Tauri leaned into his kiss and was rewarded with his tongue tangling with hers. She moaned softly in her throat as he continued to engage her mouth so passionately.

Tauri pulled away and whispered, “I'm at work,” she protested softly.

Rion raised a brow confused. “You do remember what happened in here?”

She flushed and removed her hand from his face. “Alright, let's go Orion.”

  Rion laughed as he stood to his full height and helped her to her feet. Tauri reached into her drawer and retrieved her purse.

  “We can stop by your apartment so you can change,” Rion told her taking her hand.

Tauri looked down at her beige linen business suit. “Do I need to change?”

  “Yes, we're doing Detroit today,” he confirmed. “I need you to wear something comfortable like jeans.”

She looked at him. “Are you planning to help me change?”

  He nodded. “We have about an hour or two before we have to be there so I'll do my best to persuade you some more.”

  Tauri walked toward the door with Rion's eyes on her behind. “I don't need anymore persuasion Orion.”

  She turned back to look at him where he was still standing. “But I do have a craving for some deep, dark chocolate.” Tauri licked her lips and his eyes were glued to her mouth.

She turned back and walked out the door.

Rion shook head then looked up to the heavens. “Damn, I love that girl!”

  Two hours later Tauri sat across from Rion who had donned a baseball cap and sunglasses. She had changed into jeans and a T-shirt matching his attire. Rion found her Detroit look extremely sexy as most of the time he saw her either in her business attire or completely naked.

  She looked up in surprise as they pulled up into the crowded parking lot at one of the local recreation centers. There was a huge crowd at the baseball diamond and she looked over at him.